VIEW HEAVY DIGIMAG #454 HERE This week HEAVY brings you an exciting new opportunity for bands to make quality music videos to go with their work. With acclaimed horror film director Chris Sun recently launching Sun Entertainment, HEAVY decided to track Chris down and gauge his value and worth to bands of all shapes and […]

After what has felt like an eternity for fans, California’s most outrageous metal maestros Steel Panther return with an anthem for the ages. The quartet comprised of Michael Starr, Satchel, Spyder, and Stix Zadinia have crafted a tribute to moms everywhere in honor of their favorite Hallmark holiday: Mother’s Day. "The Mother’s Day Song" is quin… Read More/Discuss on Metal Underground.com

Interview by Kris Peters. Australian filmmaker Chris Sun has spent over 15 years building a reputation in the horror world crafting brutal, unforgettable films like Daddy’s Little Girl, Charlie’s Farm and BOAR. Now, he’s turning that same cinematic intensity toward a new frontier: music videos. With the launch of Sun Entertainment, Chris is stepping into […]

LOS ANGELES, CA — In a definitive move that reshapes the landscape of legacy rock catalogs, funk-rock pioneers Red Hot Chili Peppers have officially finalized the sale of their master recordings to Warner Music Group (WMG). While initial reports in February 2025 suggested the band was seeking a valuation closer to $350 million, industry insiders confirm the deal closed at approximately $300 million.

TL;DR

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have finalized a $300 million sale of their master recordings to Warner Music Group. Combined with their previous 2021 publishing sale, the band has liquidated their musical assets for a total of $440 million.

The Warner Connection: A Homegoing for the Catalog

The acquisition marks a full-circle moment for the band’s recorded legacy. A significant portion of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ most iconic work—including the diamond-certified Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), Californication (1999), and Stadium Arcadium (2006)—was originally released under the Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records) banner. By assuming full ownership of the masters, WMG secures long-term control over a catalog that has consistently outperformed modern benchmarks.

This sale follows a broader industry trend where “Superstar” artists with significant leverage can negotiate massive lump-sum payouts for their life’s work. Major conglomerates like Universal, Sony, and Warner currently hold roughly 74.67% of the global recorded music market share (Billboard, 2023; as cited in Opus, 2024). These “Big Three” continue to invest billions into acquiring proven assets that provide stable, long-term streaming revenue (Opus, 2024).

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Revenue Pillars and Streaming Dominance

Warner Music Group’s $300 million investment is backed by the band’s massive digital footprint. Currently, the Red Hot Chili Peppers boast six singles in Spotify’s elite “Billion Stream Club,” including:

• “Under the Bridge”
• “Californication”
• “Otherside”

The band’s enduring popularity on streaming platforms provides a hedge against the volatility of new releases. This transition into a “platform industry” means that catalog access often outweighs individual sales in terms of long-term corporate value (Columbia Library Journals, 2026).

The $440 Million Total Exit

This masters deal is the second half of a massive financial exit for the band. In 2021, the Red Hot Chili Peppers sold their publishing rights (the underlying compositions) to Hipgnosis Songs Fund for approximately $140 million. With the addition of the $300 million masters sale to WMG, the band’s total catalog valuation has reached a staggering $440 million.

While spokespeople for WMG and the band’s management have declined to comment officially, the finalization of the sale underscores the “resilience and adaptability” of major labels in securing “superstar” assets to dominate top music charts (Opus, 2024).

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FAQ

What is the difference between Masters and Publishing? Masters refer to the specific sound recordings (the actual audio files), while publishing refers to the underlying lyrics and musical compositions. The Red Hot Chili Peppers have now sold both.

Does this mean the band is retiring? No. This is a common financial maneuver for legacy acts to liquidate their assets. The band continues to tour and record new material.

Who owns the rights to their future music? Typically, these deals cover the existing catalog. Future recordings would likely be subject to new or existing distribution agreements.

Band Bio

Formed in Los Angeles in 1983, The Chili Peppers are one of the most successful acts in rock history. Consisting of Anthony Kiedis, Flea, Chad Smith, and John Frusciante, the band has won six Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Their unique blend of funk, punk, and psychedelic rock has resulted in over 100 million records sold worldwide.

STAY LOUD: Catch the full breakdown of today’s stories on the Loaded Radio Daily Podcast, or crank the 2026 hard rock and metal 24/7 on our live digital stream at LoadedRadio.com..

TL;DR

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have finalized a $300 million sale of their master recordings to Warner Music Group. Combined with their previous 2021 publishing sale, the band has liquidated their musical assets for a total of $440 million.

The post Red Hot Chili Peppers Finalize Landmark $300M Masters Sale to Warner Music Group appeared first on Loaded Radio.

The post John Muka Band More & More Review appeared first on Edgar Allan Poets – Noir Rock Band.

Swedish metal band ELEINE return with their brand-new single “Empire Of Lies”! The first glimpse of their highly anticipated album set for release December 4th through RPM.

With “Empire Of Lies,” ELEINE channel a raw intensity that leaves a mark, both musically and lyrically. Driven by thunderous rhythms and heavy riffs, the song captures the suffocating weight of deception and the inevitable collapse of falsehood.

“Empire Of Lies” showcase the band’s signature blend of brutality and melody. Catchy yet heavy, dark yet empowering.

Founding members Rikard & Madeleine states:

“You may have asked yourself; “When will this end?”
When being lied about it’s easy to feel as if one lie pops up after the next.

Overwhelming, hurtful and unreal. Some paint themselves as a martyr, savior and source of truth when in reality it is the
exact opposite. You’re caught in the middle of this, the one who can clearly see through
the deception and lies.
But an empire built on lies cannot and will not stand the test of time. When the lies get too heavy the empire will fall, and truth is found in the remains.
“Empire Of Lies” is energetic & powerful. It has a satisfying variety of rhythm, and we hope to hear the crowd chant along in the chorus on future live shows!” – Rikard & Madeleine

“Empire Of Lies” is out now on all major streaming platforms. Listen here: eleine.rpm.link/eol

Fans can listen to the the new single immediately and then join the official music video premiere on Monday, May 11 at 18:00 CEST. Save the premiere here: https://www.youtube.com/eleineofficial

As anticipation builds toward the full album this December, one thing is clear: ELEINE are not just pushing boundaries – they’re tearing them down.

ELEINE European / UK Tour 2026 Infos & Tickets: https://www.eleine.com/pages/tour

08.10.2026 DE Hamburg, Logo
09.10.2026 DE Dortmund, Junkyard
10.10.2026 NL Hoogeven, Podium
11.10.2026 BE Kortruk, DVG Club
13.10.2026 UK London, The Undwerworld
14.10.2026 UK Southampton, The Brook
15.10.2026 UK Manchester, Rebellion
16.10.2026 UK Glasgow. Slay
17.10.2026 UK Nottingham, Saltbox
18.10.2026 UK Birmingham, 02 Institute 2
19.10.2026 FR Paris, Backstage By The Mill
22.10.2026 ES Barcelona, Razzmatazz 3
23.10.2026 FR Marseille, Molotov
24.10.2026 CH Monthey, Pont Rouge
25.10.2026 CH Lucerne, Sedel
26.10.2026 IT Milan, Slaughter Club
27.10.2026 DE Munich Feierwerk
29.10.2026 DE Trier, Mergener Hof
30.10.2026 AT Salzburg, Rockhouse
01.11.2026 CZ Zlin, Masters Of Rock Café
03.11.2026 PL Warsaw, Hydrozagadka
04.11.2026 PL Krakow, Zascianek
05.11.2026 PL Poznan, 2Progi
06.11.2026 DE Berlin, Cassiopeia
07.11.2026 DE Hannover, Cafe Glocksee
08.11.2026 DE Leipzig, Hellraiser
09.11.2026 DK Aarhus, Voxhall
10.11.2026 SE Copenhagen, Stengade
12.11.2026 SE Gothenburg, Valand
05.12.26 SE Lund, Mejeriet [release show]
Supports TBA.

Official website: https://eleine.com
Patreon: https://patreon.com/eleine
Instagram: https://instagram.com/eleineofficial
Facebook: https://facebook.com/eleineofficial
Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/@eleineofficial

More on RPM:

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Source: C Squared Music

The post SHARKEOLOGIST PONY Review appeared first on Edgar Allan Poets – Noir Rock Band.

Between the lines
I’m waiting for…
Waiting for your reply

These days, we live more isolated than ever in an age of constant digital contact. Desire arrives through screens, romance gets filtered through notifications, and the phone call has become an archaic little terror most people avoid unless someone has died or the pharmacy is confused. Texting gives everyone just enough distance to perform closeness without fully risking it. The moment another person gets close enough to hurt you, the mind starts staging disasters: the wrong word, the sudden boredom, the inevitable abandonment, the private humiliation of wanting more than you meant to reveal. Vulnerability becomes a room with too many mirrors, each one reflecting another way this could fall apart. Leaving someone on read becomes a small act of self-defense, but also a self-inflicted exile: a way to avoid the risk of being hurt by creating the very distance you fear, and leaving you trapped between longing and the terror of being truly seen.

And ACTORS’ latest single Left On Read is about that nasty little modern purgatory where romance goes to rot beneath scuffed-up Gorilla Glass: the phone in your palm, the message bubble glowing like a tiny electric coffin, the brain inventing catastrophes at casino speed. Love used to require a locked diary, a rainstorm, maybe a humiliating phone call when dignity had already left the room. Now all it takes is a screen, a text left unanswered, and the sick theatrical cruelty of three typing dots promising deliverance before vanishing like a bad friend at last call.

The track carries a hard polish and a bruised pulse. Actors Frontman Jason Corbett knows how to make synths feel vintage and doomy; guitar licks cut through the arrangement like a grin in a crowded room: quick, telling, gone before you can decide whether it meant invitation or warning. Lyrically, Left On Read turns insomnia into architecture. The mind keeps rebuilding the same doomed room, rearranging every glance, every pause, every imagined slight, until desire becomes surveillance. The speaker waits for a reply and starts hearing the silence talk back. That unanswered message becomes abandonment, humiliation, and need, all compressed into one cruel little notification. There is a mechanical ache running through the song, the feeling of a person treating their own heart like faulty hardware while still hoping someone might come along and hold the broken machine together.

Written and directed by Max Train, with editing by Train and performances from Dylan Beatch and Jordann Fruin, the video plants this anxiety in a nightclub, which is exactly where such disasters are born. Two people make a connection, and suddenly a whole life starts detonating in the imagination. What could happen, what could fail, what could make you look needy, foolish, exposed. It has the psychic sting of The Dead Zone relocated to the dance floor, where every potential lover arrives with a private weather system of dread. Those three little typing dots become horror cinema in miniature, a suspense sequence with no payoff except more waiting.

Watch for Left On Read below:

Corbett handles the operation himself: writing, producing, mixing, and mastering at Jacknife Sound in Vancouver. The result sits comfortably near The Soft Moon and Cold Cave, sleek enough for the club and anxious enough for the walk home, when every unread message becomes evidence in a trial you are conducting against yourself.

ACTORS have earned their authority the hard way, dragging these bright black songs through the USA, Canada, and Europe, turning clubs into temporary nations of eyeliner, electricity, and elegant damage. Amphifest, Wave-Gotik-Treffen, Cold Waves, Substance, Death Disco, Verboden: the stamps are there, but so are all the unnamed rooms where a band becomes real. “Left On Read” understands that heartbreak no longer needs a grand goodbye. Sometimes it arrives as nothing at all.

Listen to Left On Read below and order the single here.

ACTORS go on tour throughout Europe and Canada this autumn! The tour takes ACTORS across Europe in September, with stops in Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Spain, France, and the UK before heading back to Canada in October. The run includes festival appearances, club shows, and a closing stretch through Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary. Catch them live on the following dates:

• September 4 — Berlin, Germany — Lido
• September 5 — Leipzig, Germany — NCN Festival
• September 8 — Bielefeld, Germany — Movie
• September 9 — Bochum, Germany — Die Trompete
• September 11 — Cologne, Germany — Club Volta
• September 12 — Rotterdam, Netherlands — Baroeg Open Air
• September 13 — Russelheim, Germany — Das Rind
• September 16 — Martigny, Switzerland — Les Caves
• September 18 — Barcelona, Spain — Sala Wolf
• September 19 — Madrid, Spain — Nazca
• September 20 — Valencia, Spain — 16 Toneladas
• September 23 — Paris, France — Le Chinois
• September 25 — Manchester, UK — Gorilla
• September 26 — Bristol, UK — Strange Brew
• September 27 — London, UK — Earth
• October 9 — Vancouver, Canada — Rickshaw
• October 23 — Edmonton, Canada — Starlite Room
• October 24 — Calgary, Canada — Dickens

Follow ACTORS:

• Spotify
• Bandcamp
• Apple Music
• YouTube
• Instagram

The post “Waiting For Your Reply” — Vancouver Post-Punk Outfit ACTORS Explore Digital-Age Purgatory With Video for “Left On Read” appeared first on Post-Punk.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2026
ENIGMATICAL UNLEASHES “TOTAL ENTROPY AGENDA”
A MERGE OF INDUSTRIAL BLACK AND DEATH METAL CHAOS, OUT NOW
The underground keeps mutating, and Enigmatical is right there twisting the knife with a new full-length statement, Total Entropy Agenda , released April 23, 2026 via independent release. Built from industrial weight and extreme metal precision, the record pushes mechanical intensity straight into blackened death territory without blinking.
Drawing influence from the hypnotic industrial force of Rammstein, the icy aggression and melodic darkness of Dissection, and the relentless brutality of Hypocrisy, the album lands like a system overload. Structured, chaotic, and unapologetically harsh, it feels engineered as much as it feels unleashed.
This time around, the project is a duo at its core, with a few carefully chosen guest appearances woven into the chaos. The creative framework is tight, deliberate, and fully internal, with no outside production teams shaping the final vision.
The lineup breaks down like this:
The Entity
All instruments, lyrics (tracks 2–8)
The Voice
Vocals, additional lyrics (track 2), additional guitars (track 8)
A.o.S Heirdrain
Guest vocals on “Into The Vortex Of Cosmic Obliteration”
Dusk
Guest vocals on “Towards Entropy And The End Of Time”
Total Entropy Agenda continues Enigmatical’s evolution into mechanized extremity, where atmosphere, distortion, and rhythmic punishment all collide into one controlled descent into instability. No fluff, no compromise, just signal breaking through noise.
RELEASE INFORMATION
Artist: Enigmatical
Release Title: Total Entropy Agenda
Release Date: April 23, 2026
Genre: Industrial Black / Death Metal
Label: Independent
Production: The Entity and The Voice
LISTEN & PURCHASE
Bandcamp: https://enigmaticalofficial.bandcamp.com/album/total-entropy-agenda
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6FyKv8RvGlyUHesNaYUN3Z
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/enigmatical/1477860025


CONNECT
Website: https://enigmatical.webnode.se/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoinTheAgenda
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enigmaticalofficial/

CONTACT
enigmaticalofficial@gmail.com

Total Entropy Agenda is available now on all major platforms.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SACRED SWORD ANNOUNCES DEBUT RELEASE “THE ETERNAL REALM CALLS…” OUT MAY 13, 2026
A new force rises from the shadows of atmospheric black metal as Sacred Sword unveils the first transmission from its dark medieval vision, “The Eternal Realm Calls…” , arriving May 13, 2026.
Forged in solitude and steeped in mythic despair, Sacred Sword is the creation of a lone artist known only as Xol. Built as both music and worldbuilding, the project channels a narrative of a wandering warrior bound to an ancient blade, one that carries the souls of the dead and carves a fragile path between ruin and redemption. Each release expands this forgotten realm where hope is rare, but not entirely gone.
Musically, Sacred Sword moves like a storm rolling across a dead kingdom. Guitars shift between aggression and sorrow, while layered keys and strings form an atmosphere thick with dread and faded grandeur. The result is a cinematic descent into a world that feels both ancient and inevitable.
Fans of atmospheric and storytelling-driven black metal will find themselves at home alongside the works of Summoning , Winterfylleth , and Ultar , though Sacred Sword pushes deeper into narrative immersion, where each composition feels like a chapter in an ongoing collapse and rebirth.
Artist Statement

“I am proud to present the first offering from Sacred Sword, ‘The Eternal Realm Calls…’ , which serves as an introduction to not only the music but to the world behind the idea of Sacred Sword. This track showcases the style that Sacred Sword will be known for, haunting keys and strings along with atmospheric guitars and aggressive vocals and storytelling. Welcome to the eternal realm.”
Production Notes

Written and recorded by Xol
Mixed and mastered by Ben Karas at Frost Gauntlet Recording
Release Details

Title: The Eternal Realm Calls…
Release Date: May 13, 2026
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Label: Independent

Listen / Follow

Bandcamp: https://sacredsword.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sacredsword_bm/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sacredswordbm
Streaming & Purchase: https://show.co/6NLbBBU
Contact

Management: Undisclosed
Main Contact: Sacredsword.bm@gmail.com
No public identity. No spotlight beyond the music. Just the signal.
Sacred Sword stands as both reflection and warning, a reminder that even in the deepest dark, something still swings back toward the light. Prepare to be consumed.